209 pages ; 23 cm

Born in the Bahamas in 1874 and brought up there and in Los Angeles Bert Williams was disappointed early in life when his attempt to enter Stanford University was thwarted by his family's poverty. His early forays into the West Coast entertainment business saw him fare no better. After a time playing African 'savages' in white companies with his friend and theatrical partner-to-be George Walker, they made the agonising decision to 'play the coon'. Off-stage, Williams was a tall, light-skinned man with marked poise and dignity but on-stage he now became a shuffling, inept 'nigger' who pulled a wig of kinky hair over his head, wore blackface make-up, and concealed his hands in gloves. They were an immediate hit with Walker playing the dapper, straight man, and Williams the bumbling fool. As the new century dawned they were headlining on Broadway and amongst the highest-paid entertainers in the country. But the mask was beginning to overwhelm Williams who felt increasingly degraded by his situation and began to sink into bouts of melancholia and heavy drinking

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